That's true, but with anything natural and living, it has pores, which while making great adhesive "hooks", allow moisture to get into the material. The pores are the bane of the gluer and finisher. That's one of the reasons Orvis went the impregnation route with their cane rods. You literally don't need a coat of finish on their rods. The impregnation "sauce" goes right to the very heart of the material, and completely seals the cane. Of course, it does tend to give a plasticy look and feel to the surface of the cane, and does tend to add more weight to the rod than the typical varnish or modern urethane/polyurethane finishes.
Mark
At 11:40 PM 10/4/2003, you wrote:
Another minor difference between the old violins and the bamboo rods. The violins were made from wood but bamboo is a grass.
yust my 2 cents worth. I have absotuvely no experience with bamboo.
Allan
Mark I wonder how many Stradivarius violins were used in the rain ? I think if they were used in the same manner as a fishing rod there would be a lot fewer old violins in the world. I am also curious why we don't see the modern cane rod builders using intermediate wraps to stiffen the bamboo rods today? Mel
